What type of microphone is best for conference calls?

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Have you invested a significant amount of money in microphone technology? Was the result not as good you expected?  

You might be using a great microphone, but in the wrong room.

The performance of any microphone will depend on the environment in which it is being used. Therefore, it is important to select the most appropriate microphone for each unique environment. We talk more about environmental factors in our blog here.

There are a range of high quality professional microphones which can be fully integrated into a range of video conference room types and layouts.

When reviewing your options, some things you should consider include:

• Room size and configuration
• Use cases
• Microphone type

The number and type of microphones required will largely depend on the size of the room and the way it is configured. In flexible spaces, the configuration may change which adds to the complexity of selecting the right microphone technology.  

As an example, in fixed configuration rooms, it is possible to hardwire microphones that are permanently fixed into position on tables. In a flexible room, this would not be possible, therefore ceiling microphones or wireless microphones would be more appropriate.  

The graphic above demonstrates microphone placements in different room configurations

Use Cases

All of your rooms may serve the same purpose, but it is most likely the requirements will vary.

In order to achieve a high quality outcome, microphone selection needs to align with the specific use cases that apply to each room.  

For example, in a presentation space where an individual will be presenting to an audience (both in-room and remote), the presenter will likely move around the stage or room. For them to be heard clearly and consistently, a wireless handheld or lapel microphone would be required, along with the ability to mute or disable any microphones that might be among or above the audience. These audience microphones may still be required to cater for audience interaction e.g. Q&A. It is also important to consider the most appropriate type of microphone for this use, taking into account how it integrates with the overall experience.  

In contrast, in a small huddle space, a simple all-in-one collaboration device with a built-in microphone may be sufficient. Participants typically remain in the same spot and speak in the same direction for the duration of the meeting, therefore, multiple microphones in multiple locations are not required.  

Microphone Type

All microphones are not equal. They differ in appearance, price, but ultimately performance. In the conference room environment, you will come across a plethora of options, many claiming to work in virtually any space. But this almost certainly is not the case in reality.  

A general rule of thumb is the closer the microphone is to the person speaking, the better the result. Having said that, far-field microphones have advanced to a point that they can be installed in the ceiling or at the front of a room, and sound as though they are placed right in front of the talker. These types of microphones make sense for many reasons, but are heavily reliant on acoustics which you can read more about here.  

To be more specific, here are some of the different types of microphones worth considering, and why they may or may not be suitable.

Gooseneck microphones are popular for panels, lecture podiums and boardrooms. They provide optimal audio as the speaker is always positioned close to the microphone. These are usually fixed, so the speaker is unable to move around the room when using this type of microphone.  

Handheld microphones are ideal for multiple speaker(s) in a presentation format. They are usually used in concerts and lectures where presenters can move around the room and easily hand the microphone onto other presenters or audience members.  

Wearable microphones provide a handsfree experience. A connected headset in the speaker(s) ear may also be used to communicate with offsite participants. These are particularly important for remote education setups.  

Fixed tabletop microphones provide consistency and control in a static room where the configuration doesn&#;t change. Some tabletop microphones are often referred to as boundary microphones (the tabletop acts as the boundary). Tabletop microphones usually require talkers to be in a fairly close proximity to achieve a good result.  

Ceiling microphones remove clutter from tables and typically provide better coverage than tabletop alternatives. However, given their proximity to the talker, they are more easily affected by poor room acoustics. They make sense in flexible meeting rooms as changes to the room configuration do not require any changes to the microphone configuration, unless the specific microphone requires it, e.g. Shure MXA920 which has programmable steerable coverage, meaning you can essentially tell it where in the room to listen and where to ignore.  

Beamtracking microphones are probably the most advanced conference microphones available. In simple terms, a beamtracking microphone locks onto a source (the person talking), and will focus on that source and follow it as it moves. With the right digital signal processing (DSP) setup multiple beamtracking channels can be mixed together to produce a natural sounding conversation to the far end.

The easiest way to categorise the different types is either directional or omnidirectional.

Every microphone is designed to capture sound in a particular way. A directional microphone will pick up audio from a particular direction whereas an omnidirectional picks audio up from all directions.  

The most common type of directional microphone is referred to as a cardioid microphone. These microphones work particularly well when up to two people are sitting within arm&#;s length. However, these microphones will struggle to capture audio for multiple speakers in a large meeting room.

In general, it is best to have at least one cardioid microphone for every two to three speakers.

Omnidirectional microphones on the other hand work well for multiple people sitting around the microphone. In larger meeting rooms, it is best to have multiple omnidirectional microphones to capture the voice of the speaker(s), wherever they choose to sit. Unfortunately, these microphones tend to pick up more background noise, so it is essential to minimise any potential heating, ventilation, air conditioning noise (HVAC) and other distracting sounds.  

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When professionally designed and installed, the right microphone technology will seamlessly connect to your video conferencing platform of choice allowing for a high quality audio visual experience.  

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Are you dealing with bad audio in your conference rooms? Reach out to us here for a chat, we would love to hear from you!  

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If your work calls are plagued by comments like "Can you hear me?," "You're really quiet" and "What was that you said?", it might be time to upgrade your work-from-home setup with some better audio equipment. These phrases probably sound all too familiar if you regularly attend Zoom meetings for work. Some of it might be due to internet issues, the problems often lie with the microphones you're using for these calls.

Investing in an external microphone can help upgrade your sound quality for Zoom meetings so that your coworkers can properly hear you. Even relatively cheap USB microphones can make a huge difference in terms of clarity, so you don't necessarily have to spend a ton of money to get a good microphone.

Are you interested in learning more about conference call microphones? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

Here at CNET, we've been working in a hybrid model since before the pandemic, so our team has plenty of experience with Zoom meetings and finding the best microphones for video calls. Here are some of the microphones we use every day when on these calls.

We've found the best external microphone options, including USB mics, headsets and low-cost selections. While you're at it, consider upgrading your remote work setup with one of the best webcams on our list.

$58 at Amazon $58 at Amazon

A simple mic with excellent sound

Sennheiser SC635

$58 at Amazon

I've tried all kinds of Bluetooth single-sided headsets with boom microphones and none of them sound very good. Corded headsets really excel for Zoom, and how far do you really need to walk away from a video call anyway? The Sennheiser SC635 is a premium corded headset available in either 1/8-inch plug or USB versions -- I use the former for the best audio quality. Skip the wireless earbuds, they put microphones on the sides of your head, too far from the hole where the words come from.

-- Brian Cooley

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$179 at Amazon $180 at Best Buy $179 at Amazon

Best USB mic to use with a boom

Steel Series Alias

$179 at Amazon $180 at Best Buy

Steel Series is best known for its gaming gear, but did you know it makes excellent mics too? The Alias is a dark grey pill-shaped microphone that works well with a stand. I found it worked best on a boom. The sound quality is excellent. If you plug your headphones in, you can use the monitoring feature to hear yourself as well as your team. It has a simple touch mute button that shows you a big red X so you know you're on mute. There's also some cool lighting underneath because, at heart, it's a gamer.
I love the Alias, and it's my current favorite standalone mic for Zoom calls.

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$249 at Amazon $249 at B&H Photo-Video $249 at Amazon

Best lavalier mic

Hollyland Lark Max

$249 at Amazon $249 at B&H Photo-Video

Not all conference calls involve sitting down in front of a laptop. Sometimes you're the person giving a presentation and you need a little freedom of movement. A Lavalier mic connects to your collar and wirelessly streams to a small control unit attached to your laptop.

The Lark Max comes with two mics, with noise cancellation and a controller unit that'll easily connect to your iPhone, Android, or laptop (via USB-C). The sound quality is excellent, although you'll need to speak a little louder than with a desk mic. The drop in volume is well worth it to have the freedom of movement and the sound quality you get from the Lark Max. As an added bonus, the case also charges the mics and controller so you'll have them ready to go when you need them.

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$100 at Amazon $100 at Best Buy $100 at Amazon

A brand name you can trust

Blue Yeti USB microphone

$100 at Amazon $100 at Best Buy

I've been using my Blue Yeti microphone for quite a while now and have loved every second of it. Mine sits on a no-name arm that I picked up from Amazon as I was reorganizing my desk, and that's actually made it even more useful for me. There's a volume knob and mute button on the front of it so I can easily mute myself on a call without reaching for a software feature on my Mac.
The quality has been great and it's never given me an issue. I wish that it used USB-C instead of Micro-USB, but since it's something I leave plugged in all the time and don't really fuss with, I'm not overly worried about that.

-- Jared DiPane

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$244 at Amazon $249 at Walmart $244 at Amazon

Professional sound quality

Shure MV7

$244 at Amazon $249 at Walmart

I need one microphone for Zoom calls, for podcasting, for presenting videos and for doing voice-over work and the beautiful audio quality of the Shure MV7 provides all of that. Unlike a lot of professional condenser mics, it connects via USB straight into my computer so I don't have to mess about with audio interfaces or any of that nonsense. It's totally just plug-and-play, making it simple to get professional-quality recordings. 

-- Andrew Lanxon

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